believe in me
by scarlettkatie
Summary: Seijou faces Nekoma in a particularly intense regular season match. Seijou wins, but at a rather high price.
1. Chapter 1

_Warm light from the morning sun filled their room, highlighting the subtle golden in Iwaizumi's hair. He was snoring softly, his head resting on his hand as the breeze from the open window tousled his hair. In his movement of sleep, Iwa had wriggled out of the navy blanket he fell asleep in last night._

 _Oikawa glanced over at Iwa before returning to his task of heating a pot of water for tea. He took a deep breath, allowing the scent of ginger tea to fill his nose. As Oikawa exhaled, Iwa shifted, making slight noises as he rubbed sleep from his eyes._

" _Oikawa..," Iwa yawned as he turned to lay on his back. He sat up suddenly, eyes wide. "Is that ginger I smell?"_

" _Indeed it is," Oikawa said as he carried over their tea in the porcelain set they bought together. "Drink up, princess," he commands, handing Iwaizumi a cup. Iwa scowls slightly at Oikawa's remark, but sips at his tea anyway._

 _Oikawa thinks back to the eventful day before, the match against Nekoma._

"Hajime!" Oikawa called out to his ace after Nekoma called a timeout.

"Hey! What's up?" Iwaizumi panted as he ran over.

"I believe that our best bet is to block Nobuyuki from doing one of his aggressive spikes again. I think that they are going to set up so he can spike. In any case, be ready for anything. We are so close to winning this match, Iwaizumi," Oikawa said, feeling doubt cross his mind momentarily.

"We will. I know we will," Iwaizumi reassures as his hand ghosts across Oikawa's palm.

The two gathered their team as they explained the plan. "We have two points left. Matsukawa, I want you to make sure that no spike of number 2's hits the floor. Kindaichi, I'm relying on you to know that if they plan a fake, you are to block the spike in that situation. I want you all to know that I believe in you. You all are capable of winning this game," Oikawa encouraged.

"Let's win this!" Iwaizumi shouted. They gave each other high fives, and then headed onto the floor.

Nekoma moved quickly. After Yahaba's jump serve, Yaku received directly by bump. Kenma, mentally strategizing, sets up an attack on the left side of the court.

Watching the ball fall, Nobuyuki positions himself and jumps to spike. However, he is surprised when he sees Matsukawa's face and hears the ball hit the floor. Looking down, Nobuyuki sees the volleyball bouncing next to his feet and then hears Matsukawa chuckling as he walks away.

The ball now resides on Seijou's side. Oikawa looks up at the ceiling before continuing with his notorious jump serve. Kuroo skillfully receives the serve. sending it to Kenma for a toss. Watching Kenma's toss, Yamamoto goes for a quick attack.

Oikawa feels a pang of fear as he witnesses the energy of the attack. However, that fear dissipates when he sees Watari dive to save the ball from the floor. Recognizing what he needs to do for an attack, Oikawa follows the ball and tosses it to Iwaizumi for a spike.

The next moment seems to come in slow motion. Oikawa follows the ball with his eyes until it hits the floor. At that same moment, he hears a muted crack and a piercing scream echoes throughout the gym.

Everyone falls slient.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hnnng… Aah!" Iwaizumi groans. The ride to the ER so far had been full of potholes. It was just the two of them, having insisted the rest of the team return home and recover from the match.

"Sorry, sorry!" Oikawa apologizes as he stops at an intersection.

"Not your fault," Iwaizumi grunts in response. He lays in the backseat of Oikawa's car, right leg resting on the passenger seat. He felt as if his leg might go numb from the pain he was experiencing currently. Tears began to form in the corners of his eyes. He had been a let-down.

We won the match, but at what cost?

"Oi! Do you want to stop and get ice? We still have another half-hour to go," Oikawa inquires worriedly.

Was victory worth this pain?

Streetlights illuminate their faces in passing; lighting Iwaizumi's now tear-streaked cheeks. They pass a particularly bright one, and Iwa buries his face in his jacket, sniffling.

What is the team going to do?

They came to a stop in front of a store.

"I'm going to run in here, okay?" Oikawa said as he unbuckled. He turns to the backseat, and dries Iwaizumi's scrunched face with his sleeve before kissing him on the forehead. "I'll be right back."

What is Oikawa going to do?

Iwaizumi starts wringing his hands, a nervous habit. He shifts his position, to be more comfortable. He feels sick to his stomach, shaken to the core, and not just because he had broken at least one bone in his body.

Oikawa returns carrying a small bag of ice. He slips in beside Iwaizumi.

"Where would you like this, Iwa-chan?" Oikawa implores. Iwa strains to point at the outside of his ankle. "You're gonna need to turn around a bit so it stays put."

He doesn't deserve this. I don't deserve him.

Oikawa climbs back into the front seat, turning back onto the highway. Iwaizumi could feel himself drifting in and out of consciousness. Eventually, he fell asleep to the sound of their car speeding along the road.

Iwa-chan doesn't deserve this. It was just bad luck, right? Iwa-chan didn't do this to himself.

They pull up to the bright entrance of the ER. Oikawa hurries to help his Iwa out of the dark backseat.

"Iwa-chan..," Oikawa taps Iwaizumi's shoulder. "Iwa-chan?"

As his hand comes to rest on Iwa's shoulder, it dawns on Oikawa that Iwaizumi isn't going to be getting up out of the car on his own: he was completely unconscious.

"Iwaizumi?!" Oikawa cries out. He could feel his chest start to tighten and his heart race. He starts sprinting towards the glow of the entrance, his head seeming unusually light.

Did I do this? Is this my fault?

"Sir!? Is it just you?" a slightly panicked nurse asks. Oikawa vaguely points at the car before falling to his knees on the dark asphalt. A lump forming in his throat blocks any words that might tumble out.

Oikawa's collected mask cracks as a sob escapes him. He makes an attempt to stand up in order to follow Iwaizumi who was currently being lifted into a stretcher, his expression serene.

This is my fault.

A sudden pain in Oikawa's chest causes him to inhale sharply; closing his eyes for a fleeting sense of peace from the chaos that threatened to overwhelm him.

His arm was being tugged at: a petite nurse looks up at him with alarmed eyes.

"Could you come to help us check your friend in?" she tentatively asks.

Oikawa nods, glancing at the intertwining stones on the ground. He forces himself to stand on his feet, the sharp ache in his chest still present.

"We placed him immediately under care. The doctors are examining him at this moment. However, we need to check him in, okay? My name is Hikari," she explained as they made their way through the monotonous gray and blue scheme of the lobby.

Oikawa replied to her inquiries at the check-in desk in a barely coherent manner. At one point, he had to run back to the car to retrieve Iwaizumi's ID. He could barely open the lobby door; he felt so heavy. When he returned, there were two severe figures in long white coats waiting for him. Apprehension caused Oikawa's breath to catch, the lightheadedness from earlier making a comeback while walking towards them.

"Fortunately, his ankle wasn't completely shattered. However, it is broken fully through both his tibia and fibula. The bones were majorly displaced. We had to put him under immediately after diagnosis to prevent further displacement. He'll have to remain here tonight to recover from the procedure, though he'll be able to return home in the morning," one of the stern figures informed Oikawa.

"I'll stay here then, I suppose," he says. His chest felt weighted yet again, an uneasy guilt seeping into his very bones.

"Any questions?" the other doctor asks. "It's a simple arthroscopic procedure. Almost nothing can go awry, so no need to be worried!"

"I understand," Oikawa croaks out.

He wishes he understood. Understood why he felt responsible, why this felt as though something was ending. The only feeling Oikawa could understand at this point was that he wanted, no, needed, to hold on to Iwaizumi with all his might.

He needed to hold on to the only person that could truly bring light into his life.

Oikawa settles into a waiting room chair, taking his jacket off at last. He let his head rest against the wall, crossing his arms. Exhaustion curbed his whirlwind of thoughts until he was left with a recurring notion that refused to stand down. It was an insidious lullaby, accompanying him into half-consciousness.

I caused this.


End file.
